June 2009
Grade 7 Reading List
Students should read books they have not previously read, books that
are on an appropriate reading level, and books that have parental
approval.
Rumble Fish – S.E. Hinton
Clover – D. Sanders
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain
Warriors Don’t Cry – Melba Pattillo Beals
Journey to Topaz – Yoshiko Uchida
Nothing But the Truth – Avi
The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident – Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code – Eoin Coler
Hoot – Carl Hiassen
Miracle's Boys – Jacqueline Woodson
Breaking Through – Francisco Jimenez
Call Me Maria – Judith Ortiz Cofer
Indigo’s Star – Hillary McKay
Chu Ju’s House – Gloria Whelan
Characters Taking A Stand
Agnes Parker … Girl in Progress –
Kathleen Odell
The Bully – Paul Langan
Drowning Anna – Sue Mayfield
Feather Boy – Nicky Singer
The Girls – Amy Koss
Loser – Jerry Spinelli
Slam – Walter Dean Myers
Stepping on the Cracks – Mary
Downing Hahn
Tangerine – Edward Bloor
The Quail Club – Carolyn Marsden
Students who register in late summer or fall will complete the
notes on two books by the last school day of September.
Students coming from another MCPS school may complete
that school’s requirements instead. If a student plans to
transfer to another MCPS school, contact the new school for
information on its summer reading program.
Newport Mill Middle School
Summer Reading Program
Grade 7
READING: YOUR KEY TO SUCCESS
Program Rationale
In Montgomery County Public Schools, summer reading has been an
expected practice in middle and high schools and an encouraged
practice in elementary schools since 1998.
The ability to read is crucial to an individual’s success in school and on
the job. Reading is a life-long skill that a person not only needs to
succeed as a student and a worker, but it is also an essential skill in
civic and personal activities. Perhaps even more importantly, however,
reading opens the world to a person through periodicals, references,
essays, and literature. By reading, individuals have the opportunity to
learn about people, times, regions, and ideas that they may never
actually encounter in life. Reading can also bring a lifetime of pleasure
and mental acuity.
Research strongly suggests that reading, like most skills, improves with
practice and decreases when we don’t engage in it for even a short
time. Therefore, consistent with our commitment to prepare all
students for success during school and after graduation, we continue in
MCPS to expect all students to read during the summer.
June 2009

Dear Students and Parents/Guardians,
In order to maintain and increase students’ reading levels, all
students entering Newport Mill Middle School next fall are required
to complete some reading over the summer. Reading is a
fundamental life skill, which helps determine success in school as
well as in the workplace.

Use the enclosed graphic organizers or recreate the organizer on the
computer if you wish to type the information.
Notes will be turned in to your English teacher the first day of school
and will count towards the first marking period grade.
Story Elements Graphic Organizer Criteria/Rubric
All required elements are filled in completely; main details have
The reading program for the summer is as follows:
 Students are required to read a minimum of two books.
 One of the books must be selected from the Characters
Taking A Stand list.
 The other book may come from the grade level approved
list. With parental approval, students may choose to read
one book that is not on the list. All students are
encouraged to read more than the minimum requirement.
4
enough description for clarity.
(97%) No or few errors in convention.
3
(85%)
2
(63%)
1
(50%)
All required elements are filled in completely; main details have
some description. Some errors in convention
Some elements are complete; details are missing.
Many errors in convention.
Elements are incomplete; details are missing. Errors in
convention interfere with meaning.
Explanation of Story Elements
Newport Mill Middle School English Department Requirements:
Students will take notes on the books they read. Notes should
include specific details from the novels about the characters, setting,
problems faced by the characters, and the theme of the book.
 Students will be evaluated on notes they bring with them in
preparation for a Brief Constructed Response (BCR) that
will be written in the reading class during the first week of
school.
 The notes should cover these possible topics of the BCR:
1. Title and author of each book.
2. Select a main character and make notes on how this
character has changed throughout the book; what has
the character learned about himself or herself?
3. Discuss the importance of the setting (time and
place) and include specific details from the novel.
4. Discuss the problems the characters face using
details from the novel.
5. Take notes on the theme of the novel and use details
to support your answer.
 Each book will have its own set of notes.
Characterization—1) the character’s physical description, 2) the
character’s thoughts, feelings and words, 3) the comments and
reactions of other characters, 4) the actions of the character, & 5)
the author’s opinion of the character.
Setting—the time and place of the action in a story.
Problem—refers to the conflict in the story. There are several
types of problems or conflicts that can appear in a story:
Internal - a conflict or problem that the character has
within him/herself; an internal struggle (man vs. himself).
For instance, if a character is faced with a decision to tell a
secret to someone that they have promised not to tell
anyone, they may be faced with an internal struggle or
conflict.
External - a conflict or problem that the character has with
someone or something outside of him/herself
(man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. nature).
Theme—the idea that the writer wishes to reveal about the subject
or the point that he/she wants to get across to the reader. It is also
the controlling idea or belief as to what is important and
unimportant in life. The theme is not usually stated in a work but,
rather, must be inferred based on analyzing the work as a whole.